ICE is Recruiting Out-of-Shape Morons

Back in July I wrote about the dangers of the massive expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that was funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill law. The law provides funding for doubling the size of ICE's staff. There are many examples of rushed efforts to hire large numbers of law enforcement personnel running into trouble, including the 1989 expansion of the Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia that produced a notorious number of bad cops. Given some of the behavior we have been witnessing from ICE agents recently, the agency may also be recruiting its share of bad apples. However, recent media reports suggest that things could have been even worse.

An article published in The Atlantic this week says that more than a third of ICE recruits have failed the personal-fitness test. This is remarkable given that the test is relatively easy. According to the article, it is nothing more than being able to "do 15 push-ups and 32 sit-ups, and run 1.5 miles in 14 minutes." A career ICE official quoted in the article described the situation as "pathetic" and said that the ICE training academy's standards have already been lowered to boost recruitment. Despite my probably being at least 30 years older than the average ICE recruit, I thought these requirements were pretty doable and, just to prove it, I did 15 push-ups and 32 sit-ups before writing this post. Based on my normal workout routine, I am confident that I can easily run a mile and a half in less than 14 minutes. In addition to being old, I am overweight and not in that great of shape. Therefore, I would hate to see the folks who are not able to manage these things.

According to The Atlantic, recruits currently self-certify that they are able to meet the physical requirements, and large numbers of them have simply been lying. The article quotes an email that was sent to the agency's top officials complaining about the "considerable amount of athletically allergic candidates" that have been arriving at the academy. Apparently, experienced law-enforcement officials are fast-tracked and not required to pass a fitness test. They are presumed to be in good fitness, but who really knows? The article says that "the fitness test has been the biggest nemesis to the new recruits. The 1.5-mile run, in particular, has toppled more trainees than any other requirement". As I have said, I don't find any of the requirements to be particularly challenging, but running should be especially easy for which to prepare. The blogger Atrios probably has the best explanation for this: "Lots of guys lift but don't do cardio." The article goes on to say that:

Senior ICE officials have moved up the fitness test on the academy’s calendar in hopes of weeding out unfit candidates earlier in their training. The agency can’t afford to waste slots at the academy with recruits “who can’t even do push-ups,” one official said.

Another report, this one by NBC News, highlighted additional problems with recent ICE recruits. According to that report, "Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed new recruits into its training program before they have completed the agency’s vetting process". It continues:

ICE officials only later discovered that some of the recruits failed drug testing, have disqualifying criminal backgrounds, or don’t meet the physical or academic requirements to serve, the sources said.

NBC News also reports the rather extraordinary information that:

Nearly half of new recruits who’ve arrived for training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center over the past three months were later sent home because they couldn’t pass the written exam, according to the data. The academic requirement includes an exam in which officers are allowed to consult their textbooks and notes at the end of a legal course on the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Fourth Amendment, which outlines when officers can and can’t conduct searches and seizures.

To be clear, nearly half of the new recruits could not pass an open-book exam.

Both The Atlantic and NBC News reported that ICE shortened its normal training course from 13 weeks to eight. Then, the course was shortened again to only six weeks. So current recruits are receiving less than half the training of previous groups. Given that ICE doesn't appear to be starting out with the cream of the crop, it is reasonable to be concerned about the quality of the program's graduates.

One thing that is clear is that ICE agents are routinely behaving inappropriately, and ICE administrators are showing very little concern. When an ICE officer was filmed viciously throwing a woman to the ground inside a federal courthouse in New York City, he was removed from duty. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that "The officer's conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE." However, within days, the officer was returned to duty. Top officials from cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump on down have made it clear that they are actually in favor of police brutality and will not punish officers who are guilty of it. With the new crop of ICE agents who have limited training taking to the streets, things will likely only get worse.

With generous signing bonuses, decent salaries, and promises of student loan forgiveness, ICE is attracting a tremendous number of applicants. With a huge number of jobs to fill, the agency's recruitment process is overwhelmed. However, the quantity of recruits does not appear to be matched by their quality. A significant number are failing the physical fitness requirements, and others are unable to pass an open book examination. While the least promising appear to be being weeded out, the standards are so low that it doesn't say much for those who passed. With the new crop of lightly trained agents hitting the streets, just about anyone can probably outrun them. Or, short of that, outsmart them.